Introduction: One might think that after the departure of Ken Whiting from Airrus rods about a year and a half ago, that the innovation and forward thinking reputation of the company would go by the wayside. Those assuming this to be inevitable
are mistaken. We stopped by the Airrus booth at this year's ICAST to see what they had cooking, and did they ever have a
stirring project to share with us!

Look what Airrus has been working on, Introducing their Feather Touch T6 Series of bass rods.

Airrus goes semi-custom with their new line of Feather Touch T6 Series bass rods. Featuring reel seats built from aircraft grade aluminum, each rod in this series comes with the consumer's choice of Fuji Alconite, Fuji Ti SiC, or REC Recoil guides.

Featuring aircraft aluminum reel seats...

As if the choice of guides weren't enough, customers can order their rods assembled in their choice of five different colors for each aluminum component on these rods. So, you can order a rod in all one color or mix and match as you see fit to create your own signature combination!

... anodized in to one of five colors.

Orders can be placed factory direct or through your local Airrus dealer. Turn around time is projected at just 7 days from the point of order to delivery at your shipping destination. Pre-assembled rods will start at $199 for basic guides, $249 with Fuji Alconites, and range up to $349 when equipped with the REC Recoil guides. Custom ordered sticks with more than one anodized color in the reelseat, winding checks, and butt cap will incur a small, yet to be decided customization fee expected to be roughly around $25.

The Airrus Rods website is currently undergoing a makeover to accept these orders, but if you cannot wait, you're encouraged to call them direct at 1-936-582-1718 to place your order right away.

... and pick and choose your own guideset

Also new for Airrus Rods this year is their Wildlife Series of rods built to honor our country's wildlife, this new line currently consists of only one rod. The Copperhead Cranking Stix is a multi-modulus graphite stick built with Fuji components and expected to retail for $144.95, but is expected to be followed shortly by a flipping stick which will retail for around $169.95. Also details are still being worked out, but proceeds from this series of rods will be donated to the Texas Wildlife Refuge Association.

New for Airrus this year will be their Wildlife Series of rods.

The wrap detail on the new Copperhead cranking stick.

New rods and fancy colored aluminum components aside, the number one point Bill Hurle, Josh Fackler, and Charles Steffler, President of Airrus Rods, wanted to point out to us was their re-commitment to quality. They've gone through great pains over the past year and a half to remake themselves and rebuilt the reputation of their company.

The future looks bright for Airrus rods!

In fact, they almost did not make it to ICAST this year because they've been busy researching new suppliers for their components and are coming very close to a decision of sourcing all their rod blanks from an un-named US manufacturer. Once that deal is made, Airrus will be ready to make not only your own custom rod, but their own
repute as well.

Bill Hurle (left), Josh Fackler (center), and Charles Steffler, President of Airrus Rods (right) are working hard on the slick new rods

Conclusion: Airrus Rods did suffer a bit the past two years due to issues with supply and product development. They attended ICAST 2008 with one very clear message: everything that's passed is about to change. Taking control of their own destiny by bringing production back to facilities and resources they can oversee, and changing the line of components in their rods to industry proven, and sought after brands, Airrus Rods' number one commitment now will be to quality and customer service. It won't be easy, but the determined tone of their message was clear and we look forward to witnessing this rebirth and sharing that news with you as it is being made. So far we like what we see!